Flightless
by DragonElement
Summary: With the Allspark destroyed; Earth now suffers the side effects of the strange energy release and a war from across the galaxy. Read Author's note for better description... Rated M for safety sake.
1. Prologue

Flightless

Author's Word:

Okay... This not going to be easy but; I am more of a comic artist/concept artist than a writer... Actually anything I write is probably bad... Then again, said works (back then) were done when I was 10... Even so; I would like to point out that I am only doing this for fun; a distraction from the other shit I must do. Hell, this story may even end up discontinued ... (I don't even know how the story will end...) or a finishing success BUT I am up to new things and to expand my horizons.

First off! I am a beginner. Second! I despise bad writing and Mary Sues... So everything I write and God... may it be not so... this story end up like the things I hate in life. As for romances? Don't know and I don't care... At least until things start moving... But enough of this; allow me introduce the story.

The Story is a blend of many different Transformer Universes. Take the Movie 2007 as a base; mix G1 and Armada for flavour, and to top it off for a spin... Add elements from Super God Masterforce (you know... the Japanese episodes with -Ack! Nevermind, it may work...). This is a completely different outlook on the transformers all together... I think. (Great now I am thinking of food...)

The story is loosely about the effect the Allspark made when it exploded years ago. The energy from the release has finally settled on the planet Earth, causing unexpected changes to the denizens of the said planet. Now breaking their ceasefire, Autobots and Decepticons are now on the move to claim the new upper hand in the everlasting war; only to have things become more complicated that is, especially for Alexis.

Okay so I suck at summaries... Enough talkie talkie... Enjoy. (I hope...)

P.S. I like reviews.

So many years ago...

It has always been said that the Allspark is the most mysterious thing in existence. From the very beginning when Primus himself, God and Creator of the Cybertronians; gave a piece of himself to his people. So that they may carrying on his work, bringing new life to this world to the next. With all this time, one would of had thought that someone would of discovered more about the Allspark? But no one could ever have foreseen what was before them.

Autobots and Decepticons fighting against one another; in the hallowed halls containing the Allspark. Bodies on both sides littered the crystal set floors, staining each other with their own lifeblood. Large peds casually step on the hallowed husks and come to a stop by entrance of the Sanctuary. The large silver mech grimaces at the sight before him. To think that this is the best of what his brother is capable of. To have planned so long, only to find there wasn't much of a challenge at all for the great and true ruler of Cybertron... Megatron. But it doesn't matter; only thing that is needed now is the Allspark. His brother has not made an appearance yet but he had a way of making an entrance.

Stepping before the sealed gateway, Megatron begins accessing the key-codes and slotting them in. Autobot soldiers rush forward to defend the gateway only to be gun-downed in an instant by flanking enemy units. After entering the last key-code, the panel started to emit the siren. The gateway was rigged to go into lockdown. So Prime wasn't a fool after all Megatron mused to himself. However; Prime does not know that he had planned for this kind of resistance. Slowly moving back away from the gate, Megatron slowly powered up his fusion cannon and released. The gate shattered along with other parts of the wall. Dust and debris slowly fall away revealing the inner Sanctum. Megatron powered down the weapon and strode forward. He will have to 'thank' Starscream for the new improvements. The Seeker has always been a nuisance but he has his uses from time to time.

Even with the dust clouding his sight, it did nothing to hide the shining glory of the Allspark. Motes of light danced around while the artefact hummed softly. The sound of footsteps coming forward drew the imposing mech's attention.

"Megatron", slowly emerging from the dust cloud his brother came before him. Megatron turned to face him head on.

"Prime, I should have known you would be here".

Growling against his vocals Megatron raised his weapon, resetting it to another frequency while Optimus Prime stood his ground before the Allspark and raised his ion blaster, "it's not too late to turn back now Megatron".

Megatron glared at his rival "I am not leaving until I claim what is rightfully mine!"

Without warning Megatron charged at Optimus and pinned him to the opposing wall. They struggled between one another, Prime trying to raise his weapon up whilst Megatron pulls the offending weapon away from him.

For so many years, this is what most of their battle ended up as. A constant struggle but with any struggle one must always come on top and succeed while the other retreats to come and fight another day. But this time, there is too much to lose, for the Allspark's location to have finally been discovered by the Decepticons, their war was about to change entirely. Until Allspark to matters in its own hands... While Megatron and Optimus Prime traded blows with one another; behind them the Allspark began to react. Slowly discharging, static was pouring out of its seams until a faint droning hum built up; the Allspark started to rise from its pedestal was when the two battling mechs notice the disturbance.

Megatron forced Optimus off him and rushed towards the stairwell with Prime chasing after him. By the time they reached half way, it was too late. No one would had ever thought that the Allspark was sentient; as if it knew that it was about to be captured so it chose its own destruction. The light of the 'breaking' Allspark was beyond description. The uncanny part however was the sound; it was just silence, not even a sonic-boom. Just as the light faded, the energy of the Allspark shot upward; breaking the crystal ceiling and faded into space. It was gone. The Allspark; Cybertron's greatest artefact is destroyed. White hot fury ruptured inside Megatron, it was within his grasp. In blind rage Megatron shot up in the air, transforming in a swift action and chase after the faded trail of the once powerful relic. Optimus was torn. The Allspark destroyed itself but at what cost? Was it better for it to destroy itself to prevent misuse by Megatron?

That was the last time anyone saw Megatron, leaving Starscream with the temporary role as leader of the Decepticons until Megatron returns. With the Allspark's destruction, the war continues in a deadlock. It was never too long for one army to have the advantage, only to lose it later on to the opposing side. After a few millennia, the great Cybertronian war had ravaged the planet, leaving it scarred and drained of life it once held so long ago. Now with both armies with only a few hundred soldiers, a small truce is held in place. Even with the ceasefire in place, tension is high and it is only a matter of time until something changes to war forever.


	2. Chapter 1

"Camera?"

"Check."

"Sunglasses? You don't want to be squinting cupcake."

"Cupcake? You haven't called me that since I was seven."

"And seven is the way I will always see you, sweet heart. Now let's see... Oh! Toothbrush."

"Got it."

Alexis Witwicky pushed the extra sweater in her already fully-stuffed bag. Clothes and various possessions threatening to spill out at a moments' notice; Alexis refolded the sweater neatly then proceeded to ram it back into the bag. Again it won't fit... Judy scoffed and rolled her eyes at her daughter's attempt to pack her bag.

"I haven't I taught you anything? Honestly... You're worst than your brother sometimes." Judy takes the sweater, folds it and places it perfectly inside the stubborn bag.

Alexis leans against the wall, trying to recollect her thoughts. Just last week, Alexis has finally passed her nursing exams and has been accepted at the nearby hospital as a probational nurse. Alexis made a bet with her father that she would not only pass but will also get a high distinction. As the winner... Alexis gets to enjoy a free trip to the Dayton Air Show. To keep things 'fair', Sam had a similar bet; Get an 'A' in all subjects and save two thousand dollars and dad will get him his first car. Sam has already saved the money but it is highly unlikely he will get the dream car. Because A: Sam has never got straight 'A's and B: Their dad is a cheapskate. Alexis's train of thought crashed as soon as her mother throws an umbrella at her face.

"You will need a beach towel too, hold on I'll be right back." Judy rushes out of her room before Alexis could even respond.

"Uhh... Why do I need another towel?" Alexis turns the umbrella over looking in dismay at the Hello Kitty symbols all over it. The pink colour faded and covered in dust from the years of neglect hiding in her closet.

"To sit on it! You really want to sit on the grass? They don't give seat you know and I am not going to lower myself to cleaning your grass stained clothes. I already do that with Ron's clothes after his gardening." Judy comes back with plain red and white striped towel (thank god...) bundled in her arms.

"And the Umbrella?"

"In case it rains or to block the sun. Take your pick-"

"Mum, I think they would cancel an air show if it were raining and as for the sun? I will wear a hat. I don't want to block my view of the jets."Judy takes the umbrella and starts to wipe it with a readied handkerchief.

"It's because of the dust? Isn't it?" Her mother looked at her with a frank expression.

"Yes. My absolute hate for all things dirty is what keeping me from using this umbrella". Alexis pulled a face as dust flakes floating in her direction from her mother's cleaning.

"Don't be sarcastic with me." Judy shakes the handkerchief at her daughter, causing more fluff to fly. With a sigh Judy places the umbrella back near Alexis's bag. "What is with you and planes?"

"Great Grandfather liked to travel and grandma loved planes, she even made wooden models of them." Alexis picks up her list and goes over them again. She always liked to go over things at least twice.

The sound of tires on gravel reached her ears followed by Mojo's barking. Dad is back from picking up Sam from High School. Mojo's yapping usually carried on until someone lets him out. Packing is nearly done and with her father back, now he can drive her to the airport. Of course, her mother will most likely want to come for the final farewell and Sam will probably be dragged along to be social.

"Ok, that should be it. I'm just going to say goodbye to Mojo."

"Have you packed tampons?"

"Mum! Seriously?" With one eyebrow cocked up, Alexis stared at her mother as she raised her hands up palms outward.

"Just checking, it's what mother's do."

Alexis rushes down and opens the door for Mojo. The little Chihuahua bounds through the open door yapping. Alexis tries to resist laughing as Mojo comes towards her wearing his 'new' little princess collar. Sam will freak when he sees this. Alexis kneels down and coos at the little dog while stroking his ear. Ron's and Sam's voices could be heard from where she was, sounds like an argument. Ron steps through the front door and deposits his keys in the bowl; followed by Sam, dragging his school bag as usual.

"Come on dad, you can't do this to me. I've 'A's in every other subject."

"And you got a 'B' minus; the deal was straight 'A's."

"But dad-"

"No buts. Now get ready, we should be leaving soon."

'Looks like no new car for Sam', thought Alexis as she got up to go to the kitchen. Getting a glass out and getting milk from the fridge, Alexis pours a cup of milk and quickly shoves the milk back in the fridge before the machine began to beep at her. Sam walks in and opens the fridge and stares at the contents. Her brother usually gets food when he gets moody.

"So... No car I take it?" Alexis takes a sip from her glass. Sam does not even turn around.

"No, are you going to rub my face in it?" Sam picks out a pickle jar and inspects it.

"Maybe. Not in the mood so I am letting you off easy". Alexis takes another sip her drink. She usually doesn't drink milk but once again she has to be in the mood. Perhaps not hounding her younger brother and drinking milk are connected...

"Oh great." Sarcastically he scoffs, Sam finally pulls out the mustard when the fridge could no longer contain itself as it releases a shrill beeping noise.

"Who left the fridge open?" Their dad's voice roared from upstairs. Sam quickly closes the fridge door and waits with the mustard and pickles in hand.

"You already raised two thousand dollars. Can't you raise the rest off yourself?" Taking in the last gulp of her drink, Alexis went to the sink to rinse the glass clean.

"I would have finish high school by then, how will I get a date without a car." Sam retrieves the butter from the fridge and takes the loaf of bread from the bench. 'A sandwich, with pickles and mustard no less. At least it can't get more disgust- oh great now he's getting out the jelly.' Alexis pulls a face.

"Is this what it's all about? To get a girlfriend? The only girl that goes for a guy with a car, are the kind that are vain little bitches. You want one of them to be your girlfriend."

"It's none of your business." Sam sits at the table and takes a bite out of the strange creation that can be called food.

"I'm only trying to look out for you."

"Well you don't have to worry cause that's mum's part of the job." Almost on cue, their mum rushes down the stairs with Alexis's bags.

"Alexis! I got your stuff ready. We should be going soon so please grab anything you think you might need." Alexis sighed while her brother took a huge bite out of his sandwich. Getting up from her seat she heads towards her room one last time. Once she reached the stairs, Alexis looked at down the hallway. It's going to be a while until she gets back, at week at least. Have some fun at the Dayton Air Show on the first day, then go out and sample the local culture for the rest of the week. Going to her room, she picks up her tickets. One ticket for the plane to get there and back. While the ticket other for the air show. Even have a hotel room rented out for the rest of the week, it looked nice on the website. As she headed for the door, she looked at her mirror for a while. Fixing her short brown hair and straighten her shirt. Luggage packed and ticket's gathered, Alexis goes downstairs.

Once the bags were packed, the Witwicky's left to go to the airport. Judy talked most of the way there while Ron would sometimes add a comment or two in. Sam remained mostly silent until the conversation headed towards the "grades" subject. Another argument broke out; her brother can be quite persistent at times. Poor Sam though, maybe she will buy a gift for everyone. She will even buy a car for Sam, a toy car that is. That will be a laugh. Alexis was just happy not to be driving right now, the traffic was horrific. It was like an accident waiting to happen. Once they got to the airport, their dad decided to park in public streets. Said he was not going to pay five bucks for parking. So that meant we had to walk all the way there from the car. By the time they arrived at the departure zone, Alexis only had thirty minutes to board the plane.

"You must call us, everyday," Judy lunges at Alexis and holds her in a hug. Refusing to let go, Alexis just stands there and gives a little wave goodbye to Sam.

"Don't waste any money, if you do plan wasting it; make sure it's your own cash." Ron walks forward and gives Alexis a hug when her mother finally releases her.

"I won't dad." Alexis gestures to Sam one more time causing him to raise his brow in suspicion. "Don't get any ideas about my room Sam. I made sure everything is in its place." Sam rolled in eyes but Alexis catches the small smirk Sam just flashed. What is he planning...? As long as it doesn't involve her stuff, she couldn't care less. Ron pats her on the cheek while Judy goes in for another hug.

"I'll be back in one week's time. I got to go, wouldn't want to miss my flight?"

Picking up her luggage and backpack, she headed towards the Domestic flight area. Normally she would pivot around and give a final wave but that would risk the chance of a third hug; also Alexis hates goodbyes. Besides, she would only be gone for a week.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: This may be obvious but I felt that it might be needed.

"speech"

'thought'

"_Comm. Talk"_

"**Cybertronian**"

-Flightless- = Linebreak

The flight to Dayton could be best described as 'rocky', though rocky itself may be bit of an understatement. The plane she was on went right through turbulence for most of the journey; and to top it all off. Rain. Lots of it. So much for hoping for a nice sunny day. Though Alexis cannot put on her finger on what was worse, the plane ride there or the company. She was seated next to a gentleman who clearly shouldn't gone for the chicken; heaving and coughing out his mistake into a sick-bag. The smell enough was bad enough but no; right behind her was a small child who was currently kicking her seat, sending her forward in small pulses with each little kick. Oh yeah... This is economy class alright... Thanks dad...

By the time Alexis had retrieved her luggage from the baggage carousel, standing under the shelter just outside the exit Alexis stood there taking in the scene before her. Rain poured down with no inclination of stopping. People coming towards the Airport, running to get to cover; all the while cars slowly crawl along, dropping off people at the entrance. Alexis could barely see twenty feet from her position. Walking along under the cover Alexis arrives at the taxi line-up. The queue slowly became dwindle away until finally a taxi was free for her to use. The plump driver got out of the cab and was kind enough to put her bags in the boot. Finally inside the cab, Alexis shivered, happy to finally be out from the autumn rain. The driver gets into his seat and adjusts his rear mirror.

"Where to miss?"Alexis pulls out her notebook and opens it to the hotel details.

"Can you take me to 'Comfort Suites Wright Patterson'?" The driver does not waste any time as he pulls his vehicle onto the road and heads towards the hotel. Thankfully the air-con was on set to a more comfortable warm temperature. Pulling the soaked strips of hair away her eyes, she cast her gaze outside. She never been to Ohio before, then again she rarely left Tranquility. The rain was so heavy however Alexis could barely see what they were driving past. She just stared at the window, watching the water droplets starting off small then gradually grow in size as they slide down towards the window seams before the dusk skyline. Alexis never liked the rain. Of course lots of people don't like rain but Alexis just didn't like being wet, period. This even included swimming...This was not what she imagined her vacation to turn up as.

Slowly Alexis woke up from her daydreaming when she noticed a change in speed of the taxi. It looks like they had finally arrived. The building looked exactly like it did in the picture online, if you intend to ignore the rain for a moment. The drive ended up to being a bit over an hour. The driver politely drove right up to the entrance of the hotel and proceeded to empty the trunk of her luggage. Alexis grabbed her purse and dug around for her cash. Her father would have been horrified if he found out if she left a tip but what he doesn't know, won't hurt him. Besides, the cab driver was nice to get her luggage out and put it out and away from the rain. That's bonus points for him. Handing the money to the driver and saying her thanks; Alexis gets out of the cab, rushed to her bags and entered the hotel.

As soon as she as entered she immediately felt the cold from her body disappear, to be replaced with the nice feeling of warmth from the nearby air-conditioning unit above her. The smell of wash cleaner and perfumes tickled her nose. Clean and warm, at least the hotel has not failed to impress her. After heading for the desk, receiving her keys; Alexis was directed to door room 20. She entered her room to find it nice and neat, picture perfect to what was displayed on the pamphlet. Dumping her bags to the side and with much less grace, she threw herself onto the bed, face down. The trip on the plane had finally caught up to her and now all she wanted to now be to retire for the night. The sound of pouring rain did not change in pace. Alexis slowly sat up and faced the window. Lazily using her foot to pull the curtain just a fraction, Alexis peered out the window and looked down from her unit. Alexis released a withheld sigh, left alone with her thoughts once again. It looks like there may not be an air show tomorrow. Wonder if she can get her money back from those tickets...With nothing else to do and with sleep threatening to take her, Alexis got up to get ready for bed.

-Flightless-

The sound of beeping rouses Alexis from her sleep. Her sleep addled mind did not help her much when she sluggishly looks around for the source of the sound, only to finally realise it was her phone alarm at work. Turning the alarm off, Alexis slumped back into the bed. Staring at the ceiling, looking at the grooves and textures for patterns and images, Alexis eventually rolls over and gets out of the bed. Opening up the curtains, Alexis slumped at the sight before her. Rain still coming down in buckets. 'Oh cruel fate, how could you!' Alexis looked over to the complimentary digital clock at the end table, 8:30am... Without wasting any time, Alexis picks up her phone and calls the number on her air show ticket. After a few rings on the other end, it starts off with a calm ladies voice giving greetings. Great. She is stuck with a computer. Following the 'women's' instructions, Alexis punched in the numbers for her questions. 'Is the show still on? Is the show still on? Drum roll for disappointment please.'

Turns out the Dayton Air Show will be delayed for a whole day... Her ticket will still work for tomorrow though. At least that some good news but the question remains. 'What am I going to do now?' Apparently there are culture attractions and art galleries but more importantly there is a National Museum of the United States Air Force.

'Sweet' Alexis thought to herself, if she can't see jets flying around today, then perhaps she can look up on jet fighter history. Alexis gathered her jeans and sweater from her bag and headed for the showers. It did not take long for the hot steam to slowly rise. Taking her toothbrush into the shower with her along with the hotel complimentary shampoo and conditioner, she started to brush her teeth in one hand while unscrewing the cap on the bottle of shampoo in the other. Sam always said she was weird for this habit but in her opinion, it's just practical to use the water, not waste it. Once she was clean and completed the usual bathroom rituals of hair drying and make-up application; Alexis headed downstairs to the buffet room for breakfast. She was just in time for the hotel's hot breakfast. Bacon, eggs, hot toast; today was starting to look good already. After gorging herself on nothing but scramble eggs, sausages and bacon, Alexis 'promised' herself she will work off the extra calories later.

Once everything had been taken care of, Alexis headed for buses that would take her to the museum. It didn't take long to get there; it was literally right near the hotel, much to Alexis's pleasure. Once she got there it was a marvel just looking at the entrance, even when it was pouring with rain. The entire complex of giant hangers, long cylinders stretching across the field. Alexis held her camera close to her, she was not sure if she could take pictures but if she was; there is no way she miss out on the memories. Once there she headed for the tour guide centre and put her name down for the tour. She had to wait for a while until the tour will start so she headed for the gift store and browse around for possible souvenirs. The plane model looked fantastic, if a little plastic and bulky but some looked so photo-realistic. Alexis eventually found out that it is ok for her to take photos of the planes.

By the time Alexis had already picked out some items for future purchase, it was time for the tour. There were about a dozen people gathered for the event, most of them appeared to be older than her. The middle aged woman with curly blonde introduced herself as their guide. She guided them through several exhibits like the Cold War gallery and the World War II gallery. Alexis used her digital camera on most of the planes at the beginning until she started taking only the ones that took her interest. She didn't want her family to be overloaded with too many jet pictures... Alexis listened to the tour guide as she described some of the more predominant plane's history. After the tour was over, Alexis explored the exhibits herself, reading the information displayed on the tablets. Not the same as watching them fly but history always fascinated her.

During her exploration, Alexis came across an odd jet labelled the 'Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk'. The lights reflected off the strange faceted jet fighter making it look like an oddly cut gem. Getting her camera out, Alexis took a picture of the black jet. She had seen this jet before on web videos and documentaries. She would admit that she liked the jet due to its unusual structure, though she won't say that it is her number one favourite. It is apparently slow from what she had heard. She leant over and looked at the historical plaque.

"...first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology..." Alexis quietly read the text while looking at the strange jet. It looked like something that Picasso would make if he ever started making s warfare gallery.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Alexis pivoted on the spot to face the museum worker. The man was of average height and weight, his black hair neatly combed back. He regarded her with a friendly smile and hesitatingly pointed at the Nighthawk.

"The jet Miss? I didn't mean to startle you." Alexis laughed softly.

"No, no. I was just-"Alexis quickly pointed at the jet, "can that thing _really_ fly?"

"Used to, this model was planned for decommissioning in 2011 but was put out of service in 2008." The man walked over and patted the plaque.

"I thought this model was pretty advanced for its age."

"It was however the Nighthawk required large amount maintenance and was removed to make way for the more advanced F-22 Raptors."

"Aren't Raptors more expensive?" Alexis took out her camera again and took a picture from another angle.

"They are but they are faster and have way more fire power... Are you a jet enthusiast?"

Alexis turned and raised an eyebrow at the guy. "Does it really show?" The museum worker gave a little chuckle and gestured to the jet once more.

"Would be interested in having your picture taken inside the cockpit? For a hundred dollar donation to the museum, of course." Alexis mind went blank. Two hundred dollars? To sit in the jet? And have her picture taken? She was almost jumping from excitement on the spot.

Alexis quickly grabbed her wallet and ripped out her card. "Do you take MasterCard?" The guy laughed and raised his hands up. "Just let me notify my manager and we get this done as soon as possible. I'll be right back." The man turned around and headed off to backrooms. As soon as he was out of sight, Alexis could no longer contain the bubbly joy and squealed indigently. She could not wait until she got home and showed her family this. Alexis quickly checked camera; battery is good, settings on default and plenty of memory space. There was nothing that would ruin this moment.

Once she had paid for the donation, it didn't take long for the guy to come back along with two other fellows carrying a ladder. Alexis was kinda glad they brought the ladder out, the jet was quite tall. After they had placed the ladder in place and opened up the jet, Alexis handed her camera to the museum worker and started to climb up and enter the aircraft's cockpit. When she sat down in the pilot's seat, there was nothing that she could put into words to describe the feelings she had right now. The seat was firm and hard, the smell was a bit musty like the jet had not been opened up for a long while. But it didn't matter; lying back in the seat, behind the controls, looking at the dials. Alexis playfully imaged herself flying through the sky and using the various control with skill. Of course she had to bring herself back into reality as the guy turned on her camera.

"Okay, are you ready?" He raised the camera and pointed it towards her. Alexis quickly ran through her mind for the best possible camera pose she could think of. She cracked a grin when an idea popped inside her head as she leaned back into the chair. Bringing her right hand to her forehead, Alexis used the first two fingers to make a mock army salute and smiled for the camera. The camera flashed before eyes; leaving white dots, "just hold on a little longer, let's take another shot just in case the first one didn't work out."

The guy takes a small step back and lifts up the camera. His cheerful smile slowly faded as he looked through the camera. Following his gaze, Alexis turned herself around and looked out the window to see a bizarre sight. Thousands of streaks of bright multicoloured light moved across the sky at great speed. It was like something out of a bad science fiction novel. People all around, were staring up at the sky outside or looking out the windows. The strange phenomena continued on but deep down Alexis couldn't help but feel something was off.

Without warning, the lights changed their course of direction and headed straight downward, towards the ground at an alarming rate. Everyone gasped and awed at the change until the screaming started. One orb of bright light separated itself from the mass of strands was heading towards the museum like a flaming white comet. The sound of emergency sirens reached Alexis ears as she froze on the spot. Museum employees and tourists rushed for the exit. In everyone's panic, the men holding the ladder had already let go and gone off for the emergency exits. Alexis crawled out of the cockpit and stopped as she leaned over the edge. Even if she were to take the jump, she more than likely hurt herself from the fall and may not even reach the exit. Alexis turned around to look out the window just in time to see the orb heading straight for her, as if she were a target. The air hanger walls shattered on the orb's contact. The impact tore through Alexis's body, pain coursed through her body, her vision faded but all she could hear now was a high pitched whine.

She was going to die. Over and over again her thought repeated the same mantra. For all her might, Alexis tried to scream but all that came out was a hollow sound. She felt completely numb for while, her body pressed down on the ground while the world around continued to wobble beneath her. Her eyes failed to open as she slowly willed herself to move to the exit. She limbs were stiff and in agony as her mind wildly tried to figure out what was happening to her. Gradually she prompted herself on her elbows and crawled forward. The strange sound of screeching metal accompanied by increased screams of terror reach her ears. The building sensation of panic had taken over as Alexis as she began to breakdown and sob. A sense of relief washed over however when she finally regained her vision only to quickly shrink back in dread. She immediately noticed a difference in perspective as she saw the hanger was in pieces. People were running away, screaming in terror while some turned and looked at her in a similar fashion. 'Why is everyone looking at me like that?' Alexis thought; is she severely injured? 'Oh god, please tell me I still have legs?' Though her body ached and felt like lead, Alexis looked behind her only find her screaming herself. Her entire body was covered in a black metal alloy; her legs had somehow become twisted while her back had strange panels on her back. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something snapped and it wasn't long until her consciousness faded to black.


	4. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

"speech"

'thought'

"_Comm. Talk"_

"**Cybertronian**"

-Flightless- = Linebreak

Alexis never thought something like this could ever happen; but a lot can change in twenty-four hours... All across the globe a strange occurrence had affected a tenth of the world's population. Whatever the cause, any unlucky individual that was in close contact of a vehicle at time have now been transformed into giant robots? The entire world is in an uproar and panic is spreading. In order to stop the public from panicking, the United Nation have put together plan. All people under the strange condition are to be brought to these protected facilities, (one in each continent) along with their machine counterparts until a cure can be made. Releasing a drawn out sigh, Alexis waits among the hundreds to be put in one of these 'camps'. The vehicles that everyone is merged with are in another area for storage, including Alexis's dreaded jet. Helpless is all she can feel for the time being as these strange people start taking their names and details.

Every so often, Alexis would think back to what happened to her at the air force museum. When she first work up, she had somehow already separated from the jet only to find her entire body still covered in a thin plating of armour with a visor covering her eyes, but also to find herself completely surrounded by soldiers with their weapons pointed directly at her. From there, she dragged off along with the Nighthawk to this recently constructed area at Hoover Dam. Alexis pushed her thoughts away as she looked at the people confining everyone here. So far, Alexis could only tell that we're three types of people here. First and most predominantly; the guards. With their dark gray uniform and weapons on standby, Alexis could only hope that they are there for show. Second was the white coated scientists; only a few of them walked by. Third and last of all; the ones those are in charge, the Officers. At least Alexis thought they are; they obviously looked out place with their flashy suits. Only thing the guards and scientists had in common however were the logos on their uniform "S7". Things get weirder by the second.

Alexis scrunches the form in hands, twisting it just a little so she can vent out the stress that is slowly building up inside her. She is moments away from the front of the line that leads to the desk. She tries to sneak a peek of what is happening at the desk but the people in front block her view. Strange that she is a short arse now but can become 30ft metal monster at a moment's notice... As her turn nears, the man before her is taken away by the guards to a passage on the right hand side. The man seated at the desk, quite possibly in his mid 40s with a greying hairline creeping in gestures for her to come forward. The butterflies in her stomach increase as she walks towards him. Without even looking up from his paperwork, the man pushes the glasses higher on his nose and holds out his hand.

"Form please." Alexis places the rolled up and crumbled piece of paper in his hand causing the gentlemen to look up little. He grimaces as he unrolls the paper and reaches for a fresh sheet of paper.

"Name is Alexis Witwacky." The feeling of painful nerves washed away, being replaced with nothing but annoyance.

"It's Witwicky..." 'I guess some things never change.'

"Whatever." While tapping his finger on the table, he marks of some boxes. "This says here that you are combined with a jet fighter... Yet it states here that you are a nurse? How long have you been serving the Air Force miss?" His pulls out another form and starts to write down it.

"I'm not part of Air force... I'm a just a nurse." He stops writing as if pausing for her to continue. This did not look good from where Alexis is at. Alexis was about to explain until the man stared at her fully for the first time.

"What the hell is a civilian doing with air force property?" Everyone was staring at her now until one of the guards came up to them and handed another form to aged gentleman. "Decommissioned air force property sir; we got this one from the national museum at Dayton." While reading the new form, the man repositioned his glasses again and glanced up at Alexis. She didn't know what creeped her out the most; how quick this man mood swings are or how a thin frail man with geeky glasses can roar out like that. Mr. Temper sighed as he stamped out and stapled the forms and handed them to her. "Normally I would send you off to the Secured Sector but seeing as you can't fly. You will be joining the other ladies in the Public Housing. Head for the left exit, you will be seated down and the presentation will start shortly."

Without much warning, two guards appeared either side of her and lead her to left exit. Heading down the long corridor did not do much for Alexis at the moment as the anxiety creeped back inside. She must be strong; everything will work out for the best. Perhaps this is all a dream and she wake up back at home. Or she is still back at the air force museum, lying under a pile of rubble slowly dying... Right now, Alexis just wanted to be alone, to mope in her self-pity but the chances of privacy look like they are out the window at the moment. They reached an enormous hall filled with thousands of chairs steadily being filled with others like herself. The guards directed her to a seat and turned back the way they came. Sitting down by herself, Alexis looked around her to see an odd barricade dividing the hall into two sections... One side for the men and the other for the women. Most people choose to sit down and wait for whatever is about happen while others opt to clumping together in groups. Alexis turned to see a little group slowly forming nearby her. She couldn't help but eardrop but most of the discussion was pretty much more of the same as what other people are talking about. What's going on? What did I do to be sent into isolation? Why are they separating us like this?

Time felt like it slowed down to an eternity until Alexis noticed some activity happening on stage. By the looks of it; everyone has been seated and slowly the entire hall once loud and bustling, is now reduced to silence when a gaunt woman in the grey suit walked up to the platform. Once she reached the middle of the stage, she directed her stare overhead as if she were evaluating everyone.

"As you all probably know by now, you have been sent here for the public's safety and for your own." Straight to the point, at least there is some form of honesty here.

"It is important for all of you to know that there are rules that must be followed accordingly. If you are given an instruction by any of our personnel or security, you must comply. Any form of refusal will result in minor restrictions in leisure or confined to solitary confinement." A small outburst from the crowd as the woman goes on with her speech without batting an eyelash.

A young man, maybe even her age group rose up from the throng of people. "You have no right to do this to us!" Guards immediately head towards him. Right until this moment, whatever the woman was going on about was going to be completely ignored. Alexis was surprised however when the man's body was quickly covered in a blue metal plating. In a matter of moments, he was head to toe in sharp armour, his dark blonde completely covered with only his face being exposed. Foolishly the young man tried to take a swing at one of the guards only to have gotten himself zapped by a taser gun. Once he was down, the guards picked him up and took him away while the crowd slowly quieted down.

For a while the woman at the platform paused and just stared in the direction where the protestor has been taken away until turning back towards the seated audience and continued on as nothing occurred.

"From this point on, there is no contact with the opposite sex. From time to time, you will be asked to do various tasks and tests with our staff. Most importantly, under no circumstance is anyone allowed to walk around without their ID cards. This information is needed for our personnel and security to identify you. Remember the government still has your best interests in mind and we are doing everything we can to help you. That concludes the end of this presentation; ladies please take the exit on the left; gentlemen, the one on your right. Our personnel will show you to your rooms. Thank you." Devoid of any emotion, the woman walks off stage. Slowly everyone got up from their seats and was directed out by security. A part of Alexis wanted to scream her head off and run away but was restrained by thought of what the guards might do to her. Probably the same thing they had done to that protestor. A sense of dread takes place as Alexis walks among the masses. All she can do now is blame herself. After all, she was the one who made the bet...

-Flightless-

The Ark will never be same as it used to be. Though its structure remained the same as the day of its construction, the mechs and femmes that used to dwell within its corridors have long since been claimed as casualties of war. It's been so long since the Golden Age, the betrayal of his brother and the destruction of the Allspark. But now there may be some form of hope of survival for Cybertron. Optimus Prime entered the command centre and headed towards his second-in-command. His men immediately stood at attention when he entered the room. Giving them the gesture to be at ease, they returned to work while he waited for a report. The mech before him continued to jolt down information in his data pad, while he gave orders to the mechs at the control boards. His door wing apparatus on his back twitched slightly when he regarded his leader. **"The science division has sent in their report Optimus; not much has changed."**

Optimus Prime headed for the central holo-projector that was currently displaying their destination. The great blue green planet turned in the holographic light showing several points of interest. **"Has Perceptor pin pointed the energy's trajectory?"** His second walked up beside him activated the holo-projector to zoom in. **"At the moment, all we can say is the energy has scattered."**

"**I still think we should move closer to the planet." **

"**We would risk detection by the planet inhabitants which is highly illogical."**

"**Everything is illogical to you, Prowl. We waste time right now waiting on our afts and it's only a matter of time until the decepticons make their move."** The large black mech shifted his weight from one ped to the other. Bristling with large cannons and displaying more scared armour than anyone on the Ark. Ironhide, the Autobot weapon specialist regarded his close friend with what could be called as a calculated look. Even though they are close friends, Ironhide and Optimus usually don't see optic to optic.

"**Optimus, this truce with the cons ended when Starscream made his first move. There is no reason for us to hold back now."** That much was true and the ship's hull still bears the mark where Starscream sent his strike force to cripple them. That setback sent them three deca-cycles behind schedule and to think it all start when their sensors picked up the strange energy pulse. It was later found out the Allspark 'residue' has been travelling through a series of wormholes till now.

"**Prowl is right, Ironhide. We can't risk giving away our position to the decepticons or the natives of this planet."** With that said, Optimus turned his attention to the holo-projector. Prowl glances at Ironhide with a look of satisfaction while Ironhide releases a hiss from his air vents. **"However."** With one word, both mechs turn their attention to their leader. **"Ironhide does have a point. We cannot allow the decepticons to have a complete pedhold on this planet..."** Ironhide chuckles and elbows his comrade which only made Prowl more annoyed.

"**So what do we do now, Optimus?"** Ironhide walks up and stands beside his leader and friend by the holo-projector. **"We advance towards the planet but we will keep the maximum distance from the planet's radar. We will send scouts on planet side to gather information on the situation. Those that are sent down will have to disperse themselves in the society and blend in; this includes looking up their ****global interconnected networks."**

"**The inhabitants of this planet call it the Internet or the World Wide Web..."** Prowl activated the holo-projector's side panel and soon, another section is revealed displaying various bits of information from the said network.

Suddenly a hiss of static emits from the speakers by the wall. **"Sorry to interrupt but you may want to look at the sensor display. We are picking another signal."** A voice filtered out of the speaker with a slight hiss during the transmission. Using his data pad, Prowl allows the holo-projector to focus on the signal's wavelength pattern. The mass of light protons shoot about erratically to create a continuous wave of patterns that made up the signal. All three mech stared at the mass of stringed light get tangled and untangled. They are not scientists but it is plain to see that it either their equipment is not functioning properly or it's something the scanners have never picked up before.

"**It could be Allspark Residue energy."** Prowl entered the codes on the data pad and made the holo-projector zoom into the image and bringing into full view, the strange wavelength of energy hovered above everyone. The voice crack across the speakers again. **"Actually the signal is a different kind of energy reading... but we can't get a fix where it is or what it is. But it's defiantly Cybertronian..." **

"**Decepticons?"** Optimus Prime spark sank; to think what the Decepticons are planning to do on the planet or what do they hope to achieve with the scattered Allspark energy. **"Unlikely; the scanners would have picked up Decepticons signatures but something could be blocking the signal."** Maybe there could still be a chance.

"**Wheeljack, see if you can indentify that signal."**

"**You got it Optimus."** The voice over the speaker went out.

"**In the meantime we press forward; we must reach that planet and find out what is happening down there."** It's taken this long to finally find the Allspark residue but the question still remains unanswered in Optimus Primes CPU. If Megatron chased after the dying embers of the Cybertronian artefact, where is he now? Could he already be there waiting for them to come so that he may strike at them. Or has Megatron already harnessed the power of the Allspark and created the ultimate weapon. Releasing a hiss from his hydraulic system and dwelling on the sinking feeling in his spark chamber, Optimus could only hope that they were not too late.


	5. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

"speech"

'thought'

"_Comm. Talk"_

"**Cybertronian**"

-Flightless- = Linebreak

You know that feeling you get? When life all around you turns to crap and you feel that you have finally hit rock bottom. Yet you are too afraid to admit it because of that nagging feeling in the back of your head is telling you, that things could be way worse. Well Alexis is having one of those moments right now with her face planted on the dirty floor trapped as giant robot. It's been two long weeks and ever since the personnel of the facility have asked her to take part in these 'tests'; Alexis usually finds herself falling face first to 'The Floor', her newly proclaimed arch nemesis while the scientists take notes. As if recording the fall counts as important. Of course this would probably never happen if her legs were normal like everybody else! Whilst everyone has normal legs and stand properly on their feet, Alexis is stuck with these things. One of the scientist commented on her structure being 'digitigraded' and that she must walk on her toes if she wants to avoid another trip to dust-ball country. Of course it is a lot easier saying it but try getting over the fact that you walked on your feet your whole life and now you are forced to walk a completely different way.

Alexis drew in a long stretch of air and vented it out. If the change in walking patterns has freaked her out, not needing to breathe anymore was another aspect of the transformation that has her terrified. Apparently there were a lot of people like her fainted when they did their first test, so that is a small consolation to her. Another strange fact that Alexis and the others have discovered is the touching. Whenever someone is touching your vehicle, you will know. It's like a ghosting effect that people describe when you lose a limb, you can feel that it's still there but it isn't; however in this case, it's the exact opposite. A completely new extension on oneself and you get tickled, or has a certain kind of itch when you feel the invasive touch. A lot of personnel and guards get sent to medical wards very often because of this. Someone tried to enter her jet the other day, the complete shock overwhelmed Alexis but not as bad as the intruder when he was subjected to a jolt of electricity that nearly killed him... This sort of thing happens from time to time with the others; truck, cars, planes, boats. Now there is a new rule on the base; don't jump in the driver seat.

Bracing her metal arm beneath her, Alexis tries to push herself up. Guards and scientists back up to give her room as she slowly adjusted herself to a sitting position. Alexis released another puff of air through her vents as she tried to wipe the dust from her glass-like eyes. She had to be careful with herself; her clawed hands could cause some serious damage to her face with by just rubbing her face.

"Okay, let's try this again." Dr McGregor, the one scientist that is always present for these tests. The man is probably in his late 30's, very scrawny with squinty green eyes shielded by large set glasses. Greasy golden hair that is dire need of washing but worse of all he is sporting a crew-cut. The whole display screams out geek but the hair cut; now that's just trying too hard. "Without falling this time please." Alexis hangs her head while her 'wings' droop down at the insult. It's not like she is doing this on purpose.

Sliding her legs around, she places her feet in front of her. Alexis slowly pushed herself up with her arms and allowed more pressure on her toes. It doesn't hurt so much letting her weight be supported like this but the feeling of her balance going at a moment's notice was nerve-racking. Right now she hunched over trying so hard not trip over again. Alexis reaching out and holds onto the platform railing for support only to be yelled out by the scientists for crumpling the metal work. Gradually Alexis becoming more upright in her stance, she releases the railing but having her arms hovering over as a last resort if her black jet robot ass were fall over again. A strange metallic whine escaped her throat when her leg left started to buckle. The strange gears and over laying metal work that made her legs hissed as she tried to regain balance. Stretching her arms out to her side, Alexis stayed still. Staring across the room, Alexis always sees the same look in the reflective surface of the glass surfaced walls. The sharp thin panels on the back of her shoulders; over lapping metal that connected to more metal plating. Her body looked like a merge between the jet fighter with humanoid feature. Even the Nighthawk cockpit made the front portion of her chest. Covered head to toe in black armour save for her white face with a set of distinctive purple eyes. Her hands 'looked' more or less normal save for the clawed qualities but her legs led to three large taloned toes. She had a slightly lithe form but the most interesting body trait she had was the broad wings that span out upward behind her. They twitched and moved as if to her collect her balance. All in all however Alexis looked the same every other time she combined herself with the accursed jet, a strange looking black robot that has a motor skills disorder.

Looking away from the reflected image, Alexis notice the scientists are heading over to the lift to start the tests. These machines usually have to be brought in for the ones that are unfortunate enough to be connected to the bigger vehicles. Once the scientists had reached the top, they proceed to take measurement and take in other necessary data. Sometimes they would measure the wings, make her lift her arms to see the connecting bolts; to see how they work or occasionally they will pull back the metal near the back of her neck and look at how her 'face' connects to the 'body'. It's something that has been described as the weirdest form of transformation. Her body as a human would coat itself in a silvery white metal alloy and by just willing it; her body will join up with the jet, forming the head while the jet formed into the robot body. Very disorientating and that is why Alexis tries not to think about.

Her line of thought was interrupted when a sharp pain cuts through her. Glancing over her shoulder, Alexis discovers that one of the lab coats had gone under the plating and jabbed her with some sort of device. "We're just getting a sample, remain calm." Dr McGregor voice reached her from another angle. Grunting in pain, Alexis twists her head around to face him, "A little warning next time please?" She hissed as they removed the offending device from her and left the room with it before she had a chance to complain. "You see madam, if I were to warn you about the little procedure, you will more than likely panic and fall on top of my assistants and I don't want to deal with an injury report, especially a fatality report... This examination is over for now, split off from your vehicle and the guards will escort you back to the Grounds. We will put the jet back into the storage district".

Great. If getting herself into big robot form is bad enough, trying to separate is just as worse. The last time Alexis detached herself from the jet fighter; she tumbled over and smashed some equipment. Luckily she wasn't crushed but the jet was stuck on top of a pile of broken equipment... Upside-down. That incident had earned her a reputation and one that she is not proud of. Finally releasing the trapped air from her vents, Alexis bent forward with her hands and knees on the ground. Slowing releasing the connecting gears, Alexis's head drops off and transforms back into her small human form while the body shifts and changes back into the Nighthawk. The sound of screeching metal and gears locking up filled the room. Turning around just in time to see the jet gracelessly slamming itself to the floor on its landing gear; creating a sickening crack followed by a hiss of strained hydraulics. Alexis cringes at the slight pain that creeped up to her. 'Yep, really need to get better at this'. When Dr McGregor has run out of words, it's usually a sign that he has lost his patience. The look of annoyance clear on the head scientist's face, the doctor rubbed his temple with one hand while gesturing for the guard with the other. Two guards approach Alexis and led her out of the testing area and onto the Grounds.

The Grounds could be best described as an open field in the dessert fenced off in all directions. An area for everyone to walk around, sit or play sports on the tarmac; it's alright if you willing to ignore the eyesore of a fence that divide the men from the women. The guards bring her up to the gate entrance and waited for the man with the scanner to come by. When they scanned her ID card, the security pushed the button to open up the gates and pushed her into the enclosure and closed the gates. Escape is impossible. The scanning is mostly unnecessary; the only purpose of it is to trace where everyone is at. The outer fenced walls of the place are not electrified which usually leads to people trying to climb over it or shifting into their armour and ripping their way out; trying to escape only to get caught by the nearby patrolling Jeeps that encircle the area. Then again... The ID cards may have tracking devices inside... 'Ok now that sounded paranoid!' Releasing a drawn in sigh, Alexis heads off to the same spot near the fenced section that she always hangs out to mope, alone and in the tree's shade. Alexis was not the type to socialise. Not with their type at least as Alexis looks at the nearby girls by the water basin. Blonde perfect women tossing their hair around, relying on their money and prestige to get what they want in life. She almost wanted to throw something at one of the whiny brats when they moaned on about how hot the weather is and how it will affect their poor Ferrari's paintjob. At least they have a functioning car, something that is more useful then say a flightless jet. Sitting on an old used tire, Alexis rests her head on her hands as she gazed past the fence, looking past the men and their activities, out to the wasteland and beyond.


	6. Chapter 5

The loose soil from the unpaved land blew upward with the passing wind, coating everyone and everything in a layer of dusted power. Men walk about minding their business, trying to come up with new ways to relief the boredom on the Grounds near the Hoover Dam facility. Some would go into the makeshift tents to rest and recover from the scorching sun. Not many were lucky enough to bring their own possessions to this place but those that were are always targets for theft. Of course the security in the area does lessen the burn of these group bashing and takings but there were times when these things slip through the cracks. As for this case now, a young man; dressed in his favourite superman shirt; nestled in his yellow tent typing away into his laptop, lost in his own world when a shifty bloke sizes up his target. Before the victim could give a strangled yelp, the thief had already rushed forward, smashed the poor nerd in the face and taken the laptop. Running as fast as he can, the thief dodged and weaved his way through the crowds of people, leaving his unfit and bewildered pursuer far behind until the thief found himself secluded on the far side of the Grounds. Halting to a stop, the thief catches his breath and inspects his prize.

Shifting the strange laptop upright, the robber tries to find a serial number. Finding the inscription printed underneath stating 'Alienware M18X'. No wonder he doesn't recognise the brand, it's a gamer's laptop, probably filled with nothing but nerd shit. Never the less a laptop is still a laptop; a laptop with a decent sized screen too even if it's got that stupid looking logo on it. Once he changes the password and add a few stickers to it, no one would be the wiser. Turning off the active programs on the laptop, the thief proceeded to change the password. Once he navigated through the confusing interface; the thief entered his new ID over the old one and added his password then hit the 'enter' button. Nothing happened. Maybe he has to double click it. The thief moves the mouse pointer over the button and clicks twice. Still nothing. Maybe it's frozen. No. Wait. The mouse still works. The thief heaved a sigh as he tries to think. He can't reset the damn thing otherwise he will be locked out. That leaves it to plan C: when all else fails, click repeatedly. After the making his twenty-sixth click, it was kinda obvious that plan C was not working. It is time to release the frustration and commence plan D. Using his left hand to support the laptop, the thief rises his right hand to form a fist and slams down on the stupid piece of hardware.

"SLAM!"

"WHACK!"

Now more than ever did Rumble hate Starscream. If sending him and the rest of his team off to some mud ball of a planet was bad enough, the damn seeker had the bolts to send him off 'alone', bored to stasis. If he had his brother Frenzy around, at least he would have someone to gripe with. And for what!

"**Go scout the perimeter. Find the organics' weak points. Stay under cover AT ALL COSTS!"** Rumble mockingly using a high-pitched screech. A groan caught his attention and turned to see his assailant waking up from his retaliation. As soon as that flesh creature whacked him with its meaty servo, Rumble quickly pulled himself apart and in mid-transformation, he punched the ugly fragger in the faceplates. His sensors started to pick up movement heading his way, most likely the security of this place. Turning around in his bipedal form, Rumble looked down at the stupid organic. Frenzy was right when he told him how ugly and dumb these things were. Rumble could not see its face with all that greasy black keratin fibres covering it. If he doesn't get rid of this body before the guards come around, his cover will blown and he will be slagged or worse... Receiving a long lecture with the stand-in decepticon leader. Rumble roughly grips the human by the head strands and drags it towards a nearby waste bin. Of course Rumble is at a disadvantage with his small structure. Hissing and clicking in anger, the decepticon spy managed to get the body across the pavement to the base of the bin. Leaping up to the metal container; Rumble kicks the lid open, then reaches down and grips the humans head strands. After the third tug, Rumble growls in frustration and releases the strands. The human is too heavy to be pulled up like that. Jumping back down, Rumble rushed under the human and tries to push from under the body. The sounds of foots started to reach his audios. With a grunt of effort, Rumble pushes the lump of flesh upward only to have it rub alongside the bin. A furious squeal escapes his vocals as he jumps back onto the container and pulls the human roughly by the strands one more time. Tugging the human upward in small vicious burst, Rumble slowly starts to panic.

"**Come on you stupid piece of-"**. With an undignified squawk of surprise; Rumble falls backward into the container, getting crushed in the process by the comatose human. The daylight is immediately bloke out by the lid falling back down into its place by the momentum of the fall with a final bang. **"Slag it..." **

"I'm telling you I heard something".

"And I'm telling you, you're paranoid".

Two guards came around the bend and look down the quiet alley. Whilst inside the dumpster, Rumble pulled himself out from under the meat-bag. The interior of the container dimly lit by the red lights covering his dark form, he tries to move himself to the edge only to step into something that hopefully remains unknown to his processor; the small decepticon tries to take a peek outside only to be interrupted by the movement beneath his foot and a familiar groan.

"Wha-"

"THWACK!" Before the guy could even understand what's happening, Rumble lunges forward and sucker punches the man in the face, knocking him out cold. Scrambling back to the lid's opening; Rumble slowly raises the metal led and peeks out of the container. Two human guards; one unusually tall, the other of average build have turn and gone on their way. So much for human security. Rumble slips out from the trash and takes shelter from a nearby crate. Turning back to the dumpster and the human currently hidden inside, Rumble quickly flipped an obscene gesture that he had seen these mammals show each other in moments of anger. Away from his post, irritated and now covered in something wet and smelly; Rumble could walk right up to Starscream and tell him to shove it up his afterburner and would not give a slag about the punishment. Primus he really hated this planet and he had only just landed yesterday.

Ducking out of the alley way, Rumble slink back to his 'supposed owner' before he gets spotted. It wasn't hard for him to infiltrate the facility at Hoover Dam. Every week the inhabitants get documents and packages from an outside source. It was only a matter of concealing himself, gaining access into the transport and taking the appearance of one of the package devices and then disposing the original before anyone is the wiser. It took all his willpower not to smash the organic's face in when it picked him up and 'embraced' him. It was mumbling to itself, primus knows what it was going on about. And Primus! The smell these mammals make on a daily basis! As much as he hated the annoying meat-bag, being connected to the human was best option for a cover story for this mission. Taking cover behind the corner of the building, Rumble waited for opportunity to strike. Up ahead a truck came into view and came around the bend near the decepticon spy. Rumble compressed his gears and waited for the right moment. Just as the car had its rear end facing him, he released the contained energy and leapt forward. Landing with a barrel roll and a quick transform, Rumble laid back and enjoyed the free ride. The driver did not even notice the new harmless laptop on the flatbed. Left with his own thoughts, the only thing left to do now is wait until he reached his destination.

His orders are simple enough; Go here, scout the area, await further orders. Still that did not help the fact that Rumble is seriously creeped out by these weird organics that are held here. Once they were weak, disgusting humans and now they regarded as a new type of Cybertronian even if most of the Decepticon army despises that theory. Soundwave even claimed that they had a spark reading though Starscream; as their leader and resident scientist is trying to prove that theory. He has no idea what Starscream is up to or why he has invested an interest in these 'things' but orders are still orders and there is no point in arguing with Screamer... Unless you really want to get your faceplates melted by null-ray weapons.

Bypassing the guards and other obstructions in the facility, the truck finally came to a stop at the tents. As the driver got out of his seat, Rumble made a break for the edge and duck under the vehicle. Concealed by the tyres, the small spy peeked out to see only legs walk by. Looking past that however, Rumble could see his target just ahead. He's so close. Before Rumble could even form up a plan the truck engine started again. The wheels began to move as Rumble stumbled to keep up and remain under cover. In a split second Rumble lunge forward; out from under the rotating wheels and pivoted across the road. Until he dived across; even as he transformed and landed on his ridge in altmode and fell with a thud on his topside, all the while hoping he had not been caught.

The young man in the tent, turned around startled by the strange noise. There on the ground, completely covered in dirt was his precious laptop. Reaching down, he picks up heavy piece of hardware and looks out the tent. Checking either side of his tent, the nerd began to rub his swollen eye. No sign of the thief but he didn't care anymore, he has his beloved laptop is back. Looking down and tracing the strange symbol on cover, the young man could never understand why the symbol changed but it no longer mattered; it made it looked way cool. Using his superman shirt, he wiped off the dirt and other contents off the laptop. Overjoyed to have it returned to him, the nerd hugged his laptop failing to notice the high pitch squeak from the device.

Author Note:

"speech"

'thought'

"_Comm. Talk"_

"**Cybertronian**"

-Flightless- = Linebreak

Before anyone starts screaming at me, I just want to make it clear. When I was first introduced to Transformers, Rumble was blue. I know he swapped colours with Frenzy in the comics and toys but Rumble has always been blue to me. Always had and always will. HOWEVER! In the movie we see Frenzy colour as Silver with blue optics, to spice things up and to not make them the same as each other, this story's Rumble is black with red highlights from the laptop. Just wanted you all to know...

Plus please PLEASE write reviews if you can spare the moment. Please?


	7. Chapter 6

The desert sun shone brightly on the Grounds, heat becoming too unbearable to do any form of recreational activities like sport. Days like this everyone usually stay inside the improvised tents that they had set up. Each day more and more of these tents have been set up on the grounds for actual living quarters due to the large population that the facility is trying to contain. Apparently there are stations like these across the world, one for each continent. Pretty soon, Hoover Dam may have to consider expanding.

Not even a gust of wind was present to bring little comfort to the denizens of the Grounds. The young man stood beside a tent, looking out at the sight before him. Every day he would see this woman sit under a tree on an old tire near the dividing fence looking out to the desert. She was always alone and deep down he felt bad for her. He was lucky in a small way to be stuck in the same situation with his best friend. Glancing back down, the young man ran his hand through his blonde hair and let out a drawn sigh.

"Hey Rad, I would seriously put on my armour just so I get cooler." A voice called out from the tent.

"And risk getting into trouble?"

"You know it dude." Another young man poked his head out, darkish skin with curly dark brown hair and brown eyes; he regarded his friend with a cheerful smile. Carlos. His best friend since kindergarten and has been with him ever since. The odds of both of them being affected by the same occurrence were weird enough but Rad could have never been happier having a friend with at these troubling times.

Rad pointed ahead to the girl and raised an eyebrow. "Why does she sit there all the time?" Carlos followed the direction of the gesture and look back at his friend with a baffled expression. "Dude?" "Maybe we should go talk to her? Cheer her up a bit." Carlos laughed as be picks up the car mag from the side. "And you told me that I was risking it. How do we know talking to the ladies is not going to get us into trouble?" With that Carlos looked back down at his magazine and flipped the page. When it came to women, both of them knew they won't stand a chance when it came to dating. Both of them were not strong and muscular, they didn't have lots of cash either. When Rad is not distracted, he had a brilliant mind with a future in science like his father before him. Carlos may not be as bright as Rad but he was a master mechanic and a wiz on the skateboard. A pity most women are not interested in that sort of thing but the both of them still try.

Rad turned to his friend and offered his hand to his friend. "Come on Carlos. We won't know until we find out." Carlos smiled and held onto his hand and was pulled up.

"You're a sucker for the pretty ladies Rad."

"Says Mr. Ladies Man over here".

The two headed over to the fence and slowed their pace as they came closer. Carlos elbowed his friend, failing at subtlety all together. "So dude, what do we say to her?" Rad glanced over at his pal and shrugged. "Easy, we just go in and say hi." Reaching the fence, the two boys slowly approached from behind. The girl had not even moved as they approached. Her brown hair covered her face as she faced out towards the desert. Her red shirt and knee-length jeans were slightly dirty from the small dust clouds that often blow through here. Carlos once again pushed his friend forward. Rad pivots around to look at him while Carlos makes the 'go ahead' gesture. Rad turns back to the seated woman. Still hasn't moved at all yet. As he cleared his throat, Rad walked up closer to the fence until he was approximately two metres from her.

"Hey there."

Silence.

"What's your name?"

Nothing. She didn't even look up at him. Rad pauses for a while and turns back to his friend only to see Carlos shrug in response. Turning back to face the woman and he tries again.

"Uhh… Name's Rad. And that over there is Carlos." Rad turned to motion for Carlos to step forward and hopefully break the ice for him. Carlos on the other hand was torn between helping his friend out or turning around and pretending he was not with him at all. The former option wins as he heads over and stands beside Rad and gives a little wave. The woman didn't even acknowledge them and continues to stare out in the same direction. Carlos leans over and whispers to Rad. "Dude, I think she is ignoring us." "You don't think I know that." Rad replied in turn.

Rad paused for a second as he tried to think, though the heat was making it more difficult for him. Just moments ago, he had run this situation through his head. Go in, be charming and give her his winning smile yet now that he thought about, all in all it made him look like an idiot.

"Uhh… Hot weather today isn't?" Carlos slumped forward and face-palmed himself while Rad stood there feeling like a moron. Rad pivots around quickly on the spot and retreats back to their tent with Carlos in toe. The distance they travelled back felt like forever when in reality it was only a hundred feet. Once they got there, Rad drops himself on the ground while Carlos slowly sat down next to him. After a moments silence went by until Carlos chortled. "Smooth moves Mr. Ladies Man".

-Flightless-

She didn't want it to be this way, never had and never will but no one really can control the way things work in life. You could yell and scream at the world; make demands that you will not stand for this; that you don't deserve what fate has given you. But like the uncaring entity that it is, fate does not care for your happiness. Can one change fate? Change destiny? Is there even such a thing to begin with or is it a figment of our imagination; in hopes of understanding the world a bit better we create something from nothing so that we cannot be afraid of the unknown anymore…

Alexis's thoughts immediately left her when she sensed movement behind her. Right now, more than ever she just wanted to be alone. As soon as someone cleared their throat, Alexis knew it wasn't the guard but someone else, perhaps the multitude of residents that are forced into the same problem as she is facing. As the deep male voice greeted her, Alexis did nothing. She wasn't trying to be rude or anything but she just wanted some privacy, to be left alone. Alexis inwardly sighed to herself as the one talking to her painfully struggled to make general conversation. 'Hot Weather? Yes. It is hot. Now leave me alone as I try to think of a way to get out of this predicament.' Alexis's mind snapped to herself. Alexis was never really good at making friends. Her obsessive attitude towards certain thing is enough to make her brother climb the walls; others found her to be quite stubborn and difficult at times. Finally the presence left her alone, what she later discovered that there were two. After a while Alexis let out a sigh and looked up and behind her. Nothing. Except for the trail of footprints. Staring down at the two sets of footprints on the sandy soil, Alexis looked over the rise and fall of the depressions created by the pair. These two still have their shoes… Lucky; A few people are starting to get attacked by others for just petty thievery. Alexis was not so lucky, her favourite sunglasses and among other things have been taken along with threats by some of the other woman if she didn't comply. She reached into her jacket to feel the hard edges of her camera still in place by the hook. The one and only thing of value left that meant something special to her. Turning back around she looked out across the desert in hopes that maybe out there is some way out of this place.

-Flightless-

Obsidian covered the sky, blanketing the land with its dark blue embrace. Bright orbs of light attach themselves to the night sky; the moon hiding in itself as the moon phase passes anew. The calm quiet echoed across the valley; creatures of the night are out and about, carrying out their nightly activities while creatures of the day, stay in their nests and barrows in sweet slumber.

A picture of serenity was shattered however when a foreign sound boomed across the vale. A river of red hot light split across the sky. Cutting through the atmosphere like a bayonet, the comet continued its path downward to the earth below. The comet made impact, creating a huge shockwave and slide across the field, ripping soil, root and tree a sunder. Animals frantically try to escape the area as the strange looking comet settled on the earth. Smoke rose off the metal surface and then was carried off by the cool night wind. With a sudden crack, the surface of the comet twisted and contorted in itself as it gradually rose upward. The hiss of hydraulics releasing pressure as the figure stood upright and stretched. Two orbs of blue light pierce the darkness as the being gathered its bearings.

The silence was broken when the figure spoke through the comm. link. _**"Just made planet drop, sir."**_ After a moment's pause another voice came from the other end. _**"All scouts have reached their mark. Go out and gather intel on these camps and keep cover at all cost. Remain in radio silence unless necessary. You have your orders."**_ With that, the figure headed off to his destination to start his scouting mission.


	8. Chapter 7

Author Note: Dear readers, I do apologise for changing the Comm. talk symbols but they were getting very confusing be mixed up when the spoke Cybertronian... Sorry for the inconvenience.

P.S. Please review, I like to have a gauge on what people think about what is happening so far.

"speech"

'thought'

:Comm. Talk:

"**Cybertronian**"

-Flightless- = Linebreak

Deep within the dark walls of the Nemesis, Starscream paced back and forth in the command centre going over his findings. Ever since they received that strange energy pulse, Starscream had been trying to understand the complex nature of the Allspark radiation that affected the organic life forms of this planet. From what he had gathered so far from the scanners and reports from the scouting missions is that the humans that were affected by the residue have become 'altered', could even consider them a 'sub-species' of Cybertronian. Sharing his recent conclusion with his trine however had received mixed reactions.

Starscream had made his orders clear to have the Nemesis stay within the shadow of the moon and away from satellite detection. Not that the Decepticons needed to hide out of fear of blowing their cover to these 'humans' but Starscream had demonstrated what Megatron could never master: Patience, Cunning and true Deception whereas the Lord Megatron would use brute force, charging forward and laying waste to anything in his path until he had what he desired; even if it meant losing everything. A smirk creeped in as Starscream mused about the former decepticon leader. Long how he waited for his chance to rise up and lead the decepticons to victory. Turning back around, Starscream sat back in Megatron's old throne, HIS throne. The first time Starscream sat on the throne, the euphoria swelled within his spark as he revelled in the feeling of pride when his troops called him Lord Starscream. Lightly he touched the throne's arm rest with the tips of his digits; feeling the texture, the deep scratches on the metal's surface; slowly he shuttered his optics as he dwelled on the pleasant memory until a familiar roar of laughter interrupted his moment.

The doors of the command centre peeled apart as two mechs entered the room. As the two figures walked over towards him, Starscream grimaced when he recognised the familiar forms of his trine. Skywarp bounced his way over with a dumb grin plastered over his faceplates while Thundercracker walked along side, with no amusement present at all. To the untrained optic, they look very much the same but there are small variations to their structure other than colour differences. Out of the three, Skywarp's form is the sleekest to allow his teleportation ability to go unhindered by mass. Thundercracker's large build allows him to deliver sonic boom attacks in flight however it also makes him the slowest of the trine. Starscream is a bit of the medium in the group, not small or big but he is the fastest of all seekers known on Cybertron.

Releasing the trapped air with a hiss through his vents, the beige seeker regarded his trine coldly.** "I thought I told you two that I wanted some privacy."** Optics narrowed dangerously at the black and purple seeker in particular; however the effect did little to faze the moronic seeker. **"Come on Screamer, don't be like that!"** Skywarp snickered as he notices his commanders wings twitch irritably.

"**Don't call me that!"**

"**Aw... Is Screamer gonna have a meltdown?"**

"**You will refer to me as Lord Starscream."**

"**Lord my aft. Besides that's unimportant we have good news!"**

"**UNIMPORTANT! I AM YOUR LEADER!"**

These sorts of disputes between the two last for a breem or so, usually Thundercracker would tune off his audio receptors before his inner workings would wear down. Before they could go on and squabble, the azure seeker stood at attention before his trine leader. **"We just wanted to inform you that the satellite issue has been dealt with Starscream."** Starscream stopped in mid rant as he churned the information over in his processor. **"I expect that you two were not spotted."** Skywarp scoffed as he pulled himself next to Thundercracker**. "Please, you are talking about the best trine in all of Cybertron, well... What's left of Cybertron."** The cheerful look on Skywarp's face fell as he started to put on the usual dumb and confused look. **"So uh... Why did you want us to move those things any way? Do you have any idea how hard it is to try and not break those things? They are so temping to smash!"** The warning signs of a building processor ache pushed in as Starscream rubbed his cranial plating. Times like these he would have an intense desire to smack the idiot of a trine mate across the faceplates. Drawing in a strained sigh, Starscream turned to regard both of them.

"**Idiot. Do you have any idea what I am trying to do here?"** Still sitting on his throne, crossing one leg of the other, Starscream scowled down from his position. Skywarp stood there with a blank expression while Thundercracker's optics were half closed in a state of boredom. **"Being geeky?"** Skywarp snickers erupted into laughter, booming guffaws bounced across the solid walls of the Nemesis. Starscream turned and glared at his blue trine mate causing his wings to twitch under the unnerving off-lining stare. **"Human terminology... How cute."** Though in a sense, he should be grateful that one of his trine listened to his orders on learning human customs for tactical advantage. **"You should already know by now Skywarp that the satellites need to be moved away carefully from our position for obvious**__**reasons; Carefully is the important word here. Humans don't go around investigating undamaged satellites. Put the two together and you should have your answer unless there a few nuts and bolts missing from you're under developed processor... Well?"** Skywarp quickly nodded to his trine leader as Starscream rose up from his seat and headed to the consoles. Skywarp leaned over and whispered to Thundercracker.

"**I still don't get it..."**

"**I'll explain it later."**

Starscream brought up his research on display, all the schematics on what he could theorise so far. **"Through all my research I still have not come up with a name to call these 'things'".** He had been so focused on trying to complete his findings but the minor detail still needed attending to. Turning to face his fellow seekers; Thundercracker appeared to be deep in thought while Skywarp's faceplate were so scrunched up, Starscream swore he could hear the rusted gears within his head grind away as his processor tried to think. Skywarp's faceplates immediately lit up as an idea popped inside his head. **"Oh! Oh! Oh! I have one!"** 'Maybe it isn't too late to shut him up...'

"**Headmasters!" **

Only the sounds of machinery and the soft of hum of the ship's equipment could be heard as complete dumb silence took over the other two seekers. The black and purple seeker on the other hand was shifting from ped to ped in glee**. "Come on, it makes perfect sense. Because their heads come off and stuff and they're masters of-"**

"**Let's just call them hybrids..."** Thundercracker stepped in. Starscream released the trapped air within his ventilation systems with a hiss, the processor ache threatening to climb a higher crescendo as the pain blared through incessantly. Why in Primus's name did the Cybertronian god see fit to give teleporting abilities to this moronic piece of slag...? And why did he have to end up being part of his trine?

A beep at the far side of the room grabbed every mechs attention as the doors slide open to reveal a very common sight. The tall lithe mech bowed low as Starscream gestured for him to enter. The three seekers watched the approaching silent mech, his peds barely making a sound as they hit the solid metal floor panelling. All the while Starscream continued to stare at the mechs chest. He knew it was there, deep within his chest plates that quiet mech still kept the damn thing. The strange and unnerving action has earned him a bad reputation as a mad mech and completely unstable since the incident. Standing at attention before him, the mech bowed once more.

"**Report Soundwave, what's the status of your troop's infiltration?"** The communications officer stood upright with great panels spaning upward. Rarely did the mech spoke unless necessary. **"Operation: Success. Information: Invaluable."** Starscream grinned in satisfaction; perhaps his research is near completion after all. **"Good, have your troops relay the information they have gathered to me by the end of this cycle. Have them continue surveillance on these facilities. We need every piece of information we can get our servo's on. Once we have a permanent hold on this planet, we will set out and retrieve every last one of these... hybrids. Until I have completed my research, I am sure they will make a wonderful addition to the decepticon army."** Thundercracker moved forward, the irritation evident on his faceplates.

"**Don't expect any of us to treat them as equals. They may be an improvement from the disgusting vermin they came from but they are still not one of us."** Starscream turned to face his fellow seeker with a smug grin. **"What I had in mind for them was more of menial work or laser fodder but whether you like it or not."** The grin fell as a grim expression took over**. "Our numbers are not the same since the Golden age."** Skywarp leaned over and elbowed the azure seeker. **"Hey TC just think of them as... second class citizens. We can still push around and show them who superior."**

"**Warning: Unidentified energy signature detected. Location: Unknown."** Soundwave's monotone voice bounced off the walls, grabbing every mechs attention. So many signatures are found all the time since they arrived at this planet's solar system causing nothing but problems to their sensors. Starscream released the trapped air from his vents; he just wanted to get back to findings in peace before his aching processor burned him out. **"Dully noted. Anything else?"**

"**Affirmative. Online spark signature detected."**

"**Autobot or decepticon?"** Just what he needed now. As if he had time for all of this. Annoyance slowly making the dull throb in his processor turn into a maelstrom of pain. As long as things don't become complicated, everything should work out perfectly.

"**Decepticon: Lord Megatron's spark detected."**


	9. Chapter 8

Author's Note:

"speech"

'thought'

:Comm. Talk:

"**Cybertronian**"

-Flightless- = Linebreak

The time that Hound had spent on this planet, though short it may have been so far was something that words have failed to describe. The air on the planet 'moves' with its own flow throughout the area; carrying with it smells that Hound had never encountered before. The ground on this planet was nothing like theirs back on Cybertron. Their planet was constant and stable while this 'soil' was so unstable, it shifted as he twisted his wheels into it; moulding into it new shapes into the ground, creating patterns. Colour was everywhere, not the dull greys or titanium undertones that Cybertron's landscape would display. No. The vibrant colours would cover the entire colour spectrum. Even here in the desert that he had been stationed to monitor still captivated him. Everything around him breathed, had life. Resting on his axles, Hound turned his attention towards the humans. Such strange creatures but amazing in their own right. He spent many cycles looking up information about this planet and its inhabitants on the shared global network; gathering facts about the 'birth' of the planet thousands of vorns ago and all the way to medieval times. So many different cultures and languages, Hound was amazed that the planet didn't break apart from miscommunication. Perhaps he could learn a new language? Of course he had to download a major amount of data in order to understand most dialects so he could take part in this mission. Maybe when he is back at the ark, he will uninstall the foreign language file and learn them all manually... Maybe he could learn sign language.

Hound's musing was abruptly stopped when he sensed it again. That weird buzz that raced across his internal systems and tracking units. Something is here and it keeps blocking his radar somehow. He already notified Autobot base about his predicament but the only thing he can do now is manually search for the source. If he finds the source personally and do scan on it, he could get a better reading on it. It had already crossed his processor that it is more than likely a decepticon but for everyone sakes, especially the humans, that it is not the case.

One of the uniformed humans walked up beside him and opened up his front door. This one regularly rides him and takes him out of the facility for patrols. Once the human was seated in, Hound prepared himself to start his engine. Those keys do nothing really but in order to keep his cover, Hound was more than willing to 'drive' with the human. With his engine started, the human moved the military Jeep out and onto the surrounding grounds of the facility. Times like these, Hound would activate his tracking equipment and search for that strange signal. Buzzing in frustration when nothing came to him, Hound turned his attention up ahead. His wheels going over the bumps and holes of the ground, the sun glaring down on him giving this undeniable feeling of warmth on his armour; Hound wondered how his fellow Autobots are adjusting to this planet. Though Hound would have to admit, it was weird at first having an organic ride inside his interior but after the first ride; he has learnt more about humans than he ever thought possible. Body language, posture, emotion and the slang they use. By the end of the patrol, the driver usually pulled into the grounds and parked inside the large bunker but this time he left Hound outside, parked parallel to white station house where most of the guard go in on their breaks. Not that Hound mind, not when he still got to enjoy being outside a little longer.

Receiving an incoming message on his comm. unit, the Jeep waited until the human went inside the building before activating his comm. unit. A slight buzz of static came forth as a deep voice greeted him.

**:Hey Hound! What's shaking?:** Hound inwardly smiled when he recognised the mech on the other end.

**:Not bad Blaster. How are the other scouts doing?:**

**:Great! Though I just got off the comm. with Sunstreaker. He wouldn't shut up about his paintjob.:** Hound tried very hard to resist the urge to laugh. **:Hey Hound, anything new on that weird signal you caught.:**

**:Not much has changed Blaster though I am still trying to track the signal.: **

**:Still can't get it? Slag... You don't think-:**

**:Yeah and I wouldn't be surprised. If the Decepticons have made a new type of clocker then Optimus needs to know. But don't worry; once I track the signal, I will immediately contact you so you can let Prime and the others know.:**

**:Alright then, I better check with the rest of the bots. Later Hound.:**

Hound sank down on his hydraulics as he pondered on the situation. What if he can't get a fix on the signal? It's bad enough that the decepticons made it to the planet before they did but to be unable to get a reading on the cons is going to make it tough for all the bots. Of course the decepticons always made use of cloakers in the past but this one seems more advanced than those in the past.

The trackers musings were immediately cut short by the slight shimmer that hovered above him. Gliding on soft winds, powdered white wings contrasted with a black dot with dark shade edging; dashed past his hood. The small invertebrate danced before him, mesmerising Hound. A quick search on the global network revealed to him that it was a Hemileuca Nevadensis or what the humans preferably called it, a Nevada Buck Moth. Slowly and softly the fragile yet beautiful creature rested on his wind screen causing the Autobot's spark to skip a beat. Words could hardly describe the feeling that was building up inside him. The insert fluttered and fanned out its wings as Hound watched in awe. Sunlight passed through its wings revealing the delicate network of veins. The dust covering its body glittered from different angles. Even the smallest things on this planet held so much beauty.

Without warning something swung out and crushed the moth onto his screen causing Hound's spark to snap in two... The blunt object moved away only to leave behind the tattered remains of the fallen creature. A slight squeak escaped from Hound as the guard walked away with the offending rolled up newspaper. Once more Hound sunk lower down on his wheels. It made no sense; why did that human destroy the small moth and for what purpose, he can't understand. 'I guess I haven't done enough research on humans as I thought...' It's a shame really, that these humans don't appreciate nature like he does.


	10. Chapter 9

Another day goes by here in the Grounds and slowly but surely Rumble is losing his tolerance for his human charge. Even now; sitting on the steel stair ramp out near the sport's courtyard, the annoying organic is typing away, keying in commands to some gaming program while Rumble sits there and allows it. If keeping his cover straight wasn't a necessity for the mission, Rumble would have long ago smashed the nerd's face in. Not that Rumble hated the video games, they were actually quite amusing but to be used like this and by a meatbag no less, offends him. Not only did he have to deal with this organic but an autobot as well. His sensors picked up the bot's spark signature a few days ago though one autobot does not frighten him, not when he has Starscream's new stealth technology on him. The screechy flier would not shut up about his brilliant invention but the tech was worth the rant. That bot is going to be running in circles before he finds him. Turning his attention elsewhere from the annoying fleshling, away from the degrading acts that are imposed on him; he turned towards the activity that was happening below them. Several humans raced around on the pavement, chasing after a rubber sphere and kicking it around. With a quick search on a secured section on his processor, Rumble indentifies the activity under a sport known as soccer or football. More seemingly useless information poured into him until he broke the link to the internet. Don't know how humans can consider sport as fun when all they are doing is wasting energy and creating unnecessary heat. Rumble jerked as his keyboard was jabbed down to hard by harsh sticky fingers. 'One of these cycles squishie, you will be offline when I am done with you...' Thinking of some creative ways of revenge on his human charge; Rumble was set down on the steel stair seat while the human rose up and headed for the end of the stairwell. Two security guards called the nerd over leaving the spy alone with a few moments of freedom.

Rumble bet his own energon that his brothers and sisters didn't have to suffer from this sort of slag. He will never hear the end of this if Frenzy ever found out that he had to 'play nice' with the organic but then again all he would have to do is remind his brother who was the idiot for catching a primitive computer virus. It didn't take too long to fix it however Soundwave was still furious when he found out about Frenzy's new condition. Everyone may still see their creator as an emotionless telepath but Soundwave is much more than that, though he never been the same since Ratbat went offline long ago... Rumble's fans slowed slightly at the thought of his long dead brother. The youngling was barely a vorn old, only to die a slow painful death by starvation. When Cybertron's energon reserves were low, the young and wounded were cut off from rationing. Rumble can still remember the look on Soundwave's faceplate when little Ratbat went offline in his servos. Soundwave even kept Ratbat's dead spark casing within his chest-plates, next to his own spark; in hopes that when the Allspark is theirs, he could resurrect the youngling. Although since the Allspark destroyed itself, it had only made Soundwave more quiet than usual. Many believed that he has gone mad with the loss and it only made things worse when Soundwave sensed fear or pain over their link.

A sudden yelp captured Rumble's attention as the rubber ball bounced off the pole and was sent flying away. It was the con's turn to cry out in alarm as the ball soared towards him. In a split second, before he could make a move, a hand reached forward and grabbed the ball, just moments from smashing Rumble's screen to pieces. The laptop turned his gaze to the one who just saved him the trouble of going to the medbay. A tall dark skinned male with similar coloured wiry hair tossed the offending object up and down playfully, a large grin plastered across his face.

"Nice catch Carlos!"

"You know it dude!" With the thumbs up, the human threw the ball back into the court and the game resumed as if nothing happened at all. 'You... When this planet is ours. You will be spared from my wrath. Maybe I'll even keep you as a pet?' Heh, _If_ Soundwave will allow it. Static crossed through his comm. link as the incoming call came through, revealing it to be none other than the said decepticon.

**:Rumble: Report.:**

**:Hey Boss! What did I tell you last time? I'll let you kno-:**

**:Current Mission: Irrelevant. New Mission: Confidential.:**

**:Er... Soundwave? What are yo-:**

**:Unidentified energy signature detected. Location: Rumble's Coordinates. New orders: Find unknown source.:** 'Okay... That was new. Soundwave rarely talks this much...' Before Rumble could get a word in, a data burst pops up in his hub processor showing the messed up signal. The data was not fixed but completely scattered, something had either broken their scanners or something completely new just got picked up.

**:Enquiry: data received?:** Before Rumble could reply, he was raised off the ground and put back down on someone's lap. The meatbag has returned and resumed typing hard on his key pad with its stubby sticky digits. The need to bash the organics head in slowly increased, growling in frustration. **:Rumble:** The swelling anger faltered. **:Focus: **With a single command, Rumble's inner rage died down. **:Enquiry: data received?:** Quickly storing the strange data in his memory banks, the laptop former lets a hiss of air out from his intakes. **:Yeah I got it, at least what I think I got is here...: **Finally able to complete his Comm. sending's to Soundwave, curiosity finally got the better of him. **:Hey Soundwave, what the frag is going on here? I thought this was supposed to be a scouting mission:** Silence claimed the other end of the comm. frequency until it was finally broken by his creator deep monotone voice. **:Lord Megatron's Spark detected. Search in progress. Unknown energy information: Classified.:** Even in his alt mode, a small smile creeps in as realisation starts.

**:Great! The big boss is coming back!: **'About time'** :Wait! Wait. When you say confidential and classified... This means Starscream doesn't know yet?: **

**:Affirmative.:**

Barely keeping his mirth in check, Rumble snorts at the idea of Starscream having a screechy fit when finds out he is the last to know about something like this. Even a bonus, the big boss is coming back, which means more amusement for Rumble. 'Wonder if Megatron will give Starscream a welcome home beating.'

**:Orders received. Find unknown energy source. Resume scouting duties. Dismissed.: **With that final note, the comm. died down to cold static. Shutting off his end of the receiver; Rumble released a content twitter causing the human to stop typing and looked all over the laptop for the source of the sound. The con couldn't care less what the fleshling would do to him; nothing could replace the feelings of joy that resides in his spark just now. Normally Starscream's rants annoy the frag out of him but back when Megatron was around; he and his brother enjoyed the continuous rants and raves due to the amount of entertainment that comes with it when the big boss comes in and wipes the arrogant seeker's faceplates on the floor. 'Ah... good times'. Rumble's happy thoughts left however when he started to think about his creator. Soundwave rarely talks that much, even to his siblings. On the other servo, the good news of Megatron's return may have uplifted the silent telepath. Perhaps the pain from Ratbat's offlining may finally heal over now. For now though, he has a mission to complete... Two missions to complete. Primus if he is given any more slag from Starscream...

After the human turned him upside down and then right way up again; the human settled him down, confusion evident on his face. Unable to find the sound, the human resumed typing away at the laptop; causing more irritation to Rumble with each hard tap of his keypad with those disgusting servos. The happy feeling that once filled Rumble was completely gone now that he had been debased in this kind of fashion, worse that his master could feel the humiliation that he must put up with. Play nice with a squishy organic. Can it be any worse? How low does this act of degradation go? Even with the good news of his Lords arrival, nothing right now can lift his spark out of the pits.

As if by Primus himself came before him and heard his plea. The air bloated rubber sphere ricocheted off the ramp and slammed into the nerd's face; and if Rumble was not mistaken, he could see the telltale signs of fractured nasal cartilage.

"Holy Frijoles! Sorry Amigo!"

'I _really_ like that human...'

Author's Note:

I guess Carlos will be the only human Rumble will tolerate. Hehe. Please people read and review. I don't write as much when I don't know people are reading it or not! Please? I would like to have more than one review... Please don't make me beg...

"speech"

'thought'

:Comm. Talk:

"**Cybertronian**"

-Flightless- = Linebreak


End file.
